ain't i a woman speech rhetorical analysis

A Summary and Analysis of Sojourner Truth’s ‘Ain’t I a Woman?’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘Ain’t I a Woman?’ – sometimes known as ‘Ar’n’t I a Woman?’ – is the title of a speech which Sojourner Truth, a freed African slave living in the United States, delivered in 1851 at the Women’s Convention in Akron, Ohio. The actual text of the speech has been the subject of some debate and contention, since there are several versions in circulation; but perhaps the most ‘authoritative’ record of the speech is the one given in The Norton Anthology of African American Literature .

This is the version of ‘Ain’t I a Woman?’ which we reproduce below, offering a summary of Sojourner Truth’s words and an analysis of their meaning.

A brief word on the context of the speech: the women in attendance at the Women’s Convention in 1851 were being challenged to call for the right to vote. In her speech, Sojourner Truth was attempting to persuade the audience to give women the vote.

‘Ain’t I a Woman?’: summary

The text of Sojourner Truth’s speech is given below in italics, followed by our commentary.

One of the most unique and interesting speeches of the convention was made by Sojourner Truth, an emancipated slave. It is impossible to transfer it to paper, or convey any adequate idea of the effect it produced upon the audience. Those only can appreciate it who saw her powerful form, her whole-souled, earnest gesture, and listened to her strong and truthful tones. She came forward to the platform and addressing the President said with great simplicity: ‘May I say a few words?’ Receiving an affirmative answer, she proceeded:

These are the prefatory words which introduce Sojourner Truth’s own words. Truth, who was born Isabella Baumfree in around 1797, had been born into slavery in New York, but she managed to escape with her daughter in 1826. She later adopted the name Sojourner Truth and became a prominent abolitionist and activist for women’s rights. ‘Ain’t I a Woman?’ is her most famous speech.

I want to say a few words about this matter. I am a woman’s rights. I have as much muscle as any man, and can do as much work as any man. I have plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and can any man do more than that? I have heard much about the sexes being equal. I can carry as much as any man, and can eat as much too, if I can get it. I am as strong as any man that is now.

Sojourner begins by asserting that she embodies women’s rights. She is as strong and hard-working as any man. She has toiled in the fields and performed all manner of back-breaking physical tasks to prove her worth. Using a rhetorical question to reinforce her point, she asks if any man can be found who could do more than she has done.

As for intellect, all I can say is, if a woman have a pint, and a man a quart — why can’t she have her little pint full? You need not be afraid to give us our rights for fear we will take too much, — for we can’t take more than our pint’ll hold. The poor men seems to be all in confusion, and don’t know what to do. Why children, if you have woman’s rights, give it to her and you will feel better. You will have your own rights, and they won’t be so much trouble.

On the issue of intellect, however, Sojourner awards men twice the intelligence of women (a quart is so named because it’s a ‘quarter’ of a gallon – that is, two pints). But if women have half the intellect of a man (something with which modern neuroscience would strongly disagree ), women can still use the intellect they possess to the full.

Men have little to fear from giving women their rights. Women won’t take more than is their due, for it would be useless to them. Here, we see how clever Sojourner’s downplaying of women intelligence is: it implies that, because they have modest intellect compared with men, women will be modest in their ambitions, too. They won’t get too cunning and try to take more than they deserve.

Truth argues that men seem confused over this issue. Surely it’s preferable to grant women their rights, because men’s rights remain untouched by doing so, and women, having been granted their wish, will stop causing trouble and protesting for their rights, once they have them.

I can’t read, but I can hear. I have heard the bible and have learned that Eve caused man to sin. Well, if woman upset the world, do give her a chance to set it right side up again. The Lady has spoken about Jesus, how he never spurned woman from him, and she was right. When Lazarus died, Mary and Martha came to him with faith and love and besought him to raise their brother. And Jesus wept and Lazarus came forth.

She continues:

A nd how came Jesus into the world? Through God who created him and the woman who bore him. Man, where was your part? But the women are coming up blessed be God and a few of the men are coming up with them. But man is in a tight place, the poor slave is on him, woman is coming on him, he is surely between a hawk and a buzzard.

Truth, who was inspired by Christianity to reinvent her identity as Sojourner Truth, calls upon biblical authority next. In the Book of Genesis, we are told that Eve was tempted by the serpent into committing sin and eating the forbidden fruit. Sojourner argues that, if women were responsible for introducing chaos into the world, women should be given a chance to right the world’s wrongs. Giving women their rights is actually giving them responsibility for the world, or at least a share in our responsibility towards it.

Next, Sojourner Truth refers to a New Testament story, from chapter 11 of the Gospel of John , in which Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead . When Jesus arrives at the tomb of Lazarus, he weeps (John 11:35 is the shortest verse in the Bible: just two words, ‘Jesus wept’). Sojourner’s point is that Jesus did not spurn the women who came to him for help: instead, he listened to them and he helped raise their brother from the dead.

Jesus came into the world through his mother, the Virgin Mary. Sojourner Truth is using biblical authority to add weight to her argument that women have played an important part in the world and deserve to have their rights. (She asks another rhetorical question, brazenly asking of the men listening, ‘where was your part?’ God was Jesus’ father, and Joseph, strictly speaking, was surplus to requirements, after all. The earthly role of bringing Jesus into the world was achieved entirely by woman.)

Sojourner Truth concludes her speech by pointing out that the tide is turning. Both slaves and women are rising up against their (white, male) oppressors and lawmakers, and demanding their rights and freedom. 1851, the year she gave her speech, was just one year before the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin , the runaway bestseller by Harriet Beecher Stowe, who was an abolitionist as well as a novelist.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin made the case for freeing African slaves and became one of the most popular novels ever published. It was even said (although the statement appears to be apocryphal ) that when Abraham Lincoln met Stowe during the American Civil War a decade later, he remarked, ‘So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war!’

As both an ex-slave and a woman, Sojourner Truth knew about the plight of both groups of people in the United States. Her speech shows her audience the times: change is coming, and it is time to give women the rights that should be theirs. Man (and she means man , specifically) is ‘between a hawk and a buzzard’, fighting a war on two fronts: he is facing opposition from the abolitionists who argue that slaves should be given their freedom and calls for them to give women their rights, too.

‘Ain’t I a Woman?’: analysis

We began this analysis by pointing out that the title of Sojourner Truth’s speech is variously given as ‘Ain’t I a Woman?’ and ‘Ar’n’t I a Woman?’ But we don’t even know if she said anything close to this, in fact.

Indeed, one reason her speech became widely known was thanks to Frances Gage, a poet and abolitionist, who passed Truth’s words (or a version of them) to the National Anti-Slavery Standard , where they were published on 2 May, 1863.

This was, of course, twelve years after the speech had actually been given, and we cannot be sure when Gage wrote down his remembered version of the speech he’d heard. Gage’s account of Sojourner Truth’s life wasn’t entirely accurate. She had five children, but he erroneously gave the number as thirteen, which is quite a margin of error.

But the version of Sojourner Truth’s speech given above, and analysed here, was written down shortly after she gave the speech in 1851. The scribe was a Marcus Robinson, who was a friend of Sojourner’s; he was present at the speech, and his version is widely regarded as the most authentic.

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Ain’t I a Woman?

Sojourner truth, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Rhetorical Analysis of Ain’t I a Woman? by Sojourner Truth

In Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech, she effectively uses allusions, pathos, and a strong and angry tone to convey her message to the men and women at the Women’s Convention in Ohio that she and other women deserve the same rights as men because they are just as strong and capable as men are. During the 1800s, women were viewed as inferior to men and had none of the same rights that they had, especially black women. This influenced women, like Sojourner Truth, to stand up and speak out against those who were denying them their rights. Sojourner Truth, an emancipated slave, abolitionist, and women’s rights activist, delivered speeches in order to advocate for equal rights and freedoms for women and the fair treatment of women compared to men. In order to accomplish this goal, Truth had to include popular allusions to make sure her audience knew what she was trying to say and would understand her message. She also had to use a lot of emotion and an angry tone to connect with her audience and appeal to their emotions in order to persuade them to see the issue of women’s rights the way she, and other women, see it.        

Truth uses allusions of people in the Bible to connect with her audience of ministers so that they understand her message of women’s rights. In her speech, she criticizes a man for saying that women shouldn’t have the same rights as men by saying, “What did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothin’ to do wid hIm.”(p.3) She uses Jesus Christ as an example of how a woman was chosen by God to bring the Savior of the world into human existence and men had no part in it whatsoever. All of the monsters knew who Jesus was and so Truth using him as an example really allowed the ministers to further understand what point she was trying to make with her speech. At the end of her speech, she describes how the sins of Eve at the beginning of the Bible have affected the world. She says, “If de fust woman God ever made was strong enough to turn de world upside down all alone, dese women togedder (and she glanced her eye over the platform) ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again!”(p.4) Truth uses this popular story to demonstrate how women have the power and strength to “fix” the world if they have the rights and freedoms they deserve. Again, the popular allusion of the sins of Eve affecting God’s perfect world is a story that everyone, especially ministers of religions that read the Bible, knows. The use of popular allusions greatly increased Truth’s audience’s understanding of her plea for women’s rights. 

Truth’s use of pathos to appeal to her audience’s emotions has an enormous effect on the emotional connection she makes with the audience in order to persuade them of her message. To start off her speech, she describes her life as a slave and how difficult it was. She states, “I have ploughed, and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And a’n’t I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man--when I could get it--and bear de lash as well!”(p.3) She describes the hard times and conditions she experienced as a slave in order to make the audience feel sympathy for her which would allow them to open up to her and truly hear the message about equal rights for women. Sojourner Truth also describes a devastating experience she had with her children. Truth includes, “I have borne thirteen chilern, and seen ‘em mos’ all sold off ot slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! And a’n’t I a woman?”(p.3) The feelings from this personal event could only be felt by another mother, so it connects all the mothers in the audience together and greatly speaks to them. This great emotional appeal to the mothers in the audience and the fact that they are also women is a powerful combination for support for the advocation of women’s rights for all women, no matter the skin color. Appealing to the audience’s emotions with personal stories to make them sympathetic towards her really opened up their ears to listen to what she had to say about the issue of women’s rights.

Finally, Truth employs a strong and angry tone in her speech in order to show the audience how important the issue at hand really is. Towards the beginning of her speech, Truth scolds the people on the relevance of some things when it comes to women’s rights. She includes, “What’s dat got to do wid womin’s rights or n_____’s rights? If my cup won’t hold but a pint, and yourn holds a quart, wouldn’t ye be mean to not let me have my little half-measure full?”(p.3) The tone that she uses towards the audience affects how they view what she is saying. Since she scolds them for not giving her all of the little amount of freedoms that she gets, the audience realizes that she is serious about advocating for women’s rights and that they should really consider addressing the issue. She also describes the hypocrisy of what men say about how women should be treated. She expresses how men think that women, “...needs to be helped into carriages, and lifted ober ditches, and to have de best place everywhat.” but that, “Nobody eber helps me into carriages, or ober mud-puddles, or gibs me any best place!”(p.3) In this, she uses an angry tone to criticize how men say one thing about how women should be treated and then do another thing that completely goes against what they previously said. Or they don’t treat all women fairly and what they said only applies to white women and not black women. The angry tone that Sojourner Truth uses in her speech implies urgency and sincerness to the audience about how the unfair treatment of women is a major problem in their society and needs to be addressed very quickly.

To conclude, Sojourner Truth adequately uses allusions from the Bible, appeals to the audience’s emotions (pathos), and utilizes an angry tone in order to convey her message that women deserve the same rights as men and should be treated fairly. Because of the rhetorical choices Truth uses in her speech about women’s rights, her audience was greatly moved and believed that she accomplished her goal of speaking out against those who were denying women of the rights and freedoms that they deserve.

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Ain't I a Woman? (Speech)

By sojourner truth, ain't i a woman (speech) summary and analysis of 'ain't i a woman'.

Sojourner Truth begins her speech at an 1851 women's rights convention in Akron, Ohio, with a simple intervention: "May I say a few words?" After asking permission, she begins with a topic sentence that introduces the subject of her speech: "I am a woman's rights."

Truth then launches into the meat of her speech. She begins with comparisons to men, stating that she is as strong as any man, can perform as much physical labor as any man. In fact, she has; Truth lists the types of physical labor that she has performed in her years as a slave, and then asks, "Can any man do more than that?" Indeed, she says, she can confirm all the talk that has been circulating in recent times about equality between the sexes. After all, she reiterates, she can carry and eat as much as any man.

Then Truth turns her attention the subject of women's intelligence. She takes for granted the condescending view that women have a lesser quantity of intellect than men, but inquires as to why men are invested in preventing women from reaching the full potential of even that limited intellect. After all, she addresses men, "You need not be afraid" that giving women rights will deplete their strength, since women will only be able to acquire as much power as they are capable of. Men, she says, are confused. They don't know what to do, even though it is obvious that they should give women their rights, and they will "feel better" if they do.

Next, Truth introduces religious imagery to strengthen her case. Although she cannot read herself, she admits, she has heard the biblical story of Adam and Eve . If Eve caused Adam to sin, she asks, why can Eve not be given a second chance? Truth then gives an example from the New Testament. In the story of Lazarus , two women— Mary and Martha —came to Jesus with "faith and love" and convinced him to raise their brother, Lazarus. Finally, Truth discusses the birth of Jesus, posing the question of his origins to her audience. God created Jesus and woman bore him, she reminds them, and men played no role in it at all.

Sojourner Truth ends her speech with a gesture of sympathy towards men. It must be difficult for them, she muses, with women asking for their rights at the same time as slaves struggle for freedom. They are caught, she finishes, "between a hawk and a buzzard."

*Summary and analysis of the version of Sojourner Truth's speech as replicated by Marius Robinson in 1861 in the Anti-Slavery Bugle.

Sojourner Truth's words make a nuanced and compelling case for equality between the sexes and the races. She does so first through a powerful rhetorical strategy: addressing her audience directly. She asks several rhetorical questions, without intent of receiving an answer, but instead to sharpen her argument for the audience. At the same time, her questions seemed directed not at the likely sympathetic audience in front of her, but to an imaginary audience filled with her adversaries: white men who disapprove of the notion of equality. She asks, "Can any man do more . . . " than she can? Later, she poses another question to those men: " . . . Why can't [woman] have her little pint full?" And finally, in regards to the birth of Jesus, her most damning example, she asks the imaginary audience of men, "Where is your part?" These questions are intended to provoke her audience to consider the answers and thus show the faults of her adversaries' arguments. Although scholars argue over whether the conference at Akron, Ohio, did have dissenters in the audience, Truth's direct questioning of the audience is a powerful moral provocation, regardless of the level of hostility actually present in the audience.

Another of Truth's masterful rhetorical strategies in this speech is the tone she employs to cast herself as a wise, old figure. Towards the middle of the speech, Truth transitions towards a more reflective tone—away from her strident characterizations of her man's strength. She addresses the audience as "children," for example, immediately casting herself as a figure above the fray. Almost affectionately, she tells the audience that they "will feel better" if they give women their rights, as if she were instructing a child to go to bed. Their own rights, she adds, "won't be so much trouble." In this way, Truth pivots from her earlier argument that women can be just as traditionally masculine as men, and towards an embrace of the typically feminine position of mother and caretaker.

Truth adds to this caretaking tone with gestures of sympathy, thus inverting the hierarchy of pity that otherwise might place her, a black woman and former slave, at the very bottom. No, Truth asserts, white men are in fact the ones to pity. The "poor men," she notes in a bemused tone, "seem to be all in confusion," as if to imply that men are the ones that need guidance and instruction, not women. This rhetorical strategy is an example of Truth's fierce wit. Indeed, she ends the essay not with any resolute conclusion of her argument but rather with a moment of sympathy for those same men who oppose her. They must be "in a tight place," she concedes, between being asked to give rights to women and to slaves, all at the same time.

In her speech, Truth also takes care to address counterarguments in order to bolster her own position. She begins with the argument that men are stronger than women, and thus should be a in a higher position in society. Her choice of weapon against this line of reasoning is her own lived experience. As a slave, she reminds the audience, she has "plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed" as much as the men. She has "as much muscle" and can "do as much work" and, point blank, is "as strong as any man that is now." By beginning her speech with an example that she can prove through her lived experience as a slave, Truth introduces what today would be called an intersectional approach, one of the central thrusts of her advocacy: that black women are women too, and that neither group should be forgotten in the struggle for the liberation of the other.

The second counterargument that Truth implicitly addresses is that women are less intelligent than men and therefore undeserving of equal political and social rights. To address this argument, Truth takes a different tack. Rather than combating it with lived experience, she concedes its central premise: women only have a "pint" size amount of intelligence, she points out, whereas men have a full "quart." Truth's masterful and subtle rhetoric is on full display here, as she asks the audience why a woman should not be allowed to take full advantage of her intellect, even if it is lesser than a man's. Perhaps Truth understood that this was a more difficult premise to dismantle than her earlier point about equal strength. Maybe she expected prejudice from the audience would prevent them from accepting her equal mind, even if they may accept her equal muscle. Whatever the reason, Truth's nimble dance between direct argumentation and Devil's advocacy cements her status as a skilled and effective rhetorician.

The final counterargument that Truth addresses is a biblical one. As an avid Christian, Truth deftly uses religious commentary to bolster her position. For example, she addresses the view that Eve caused Adam to sin in the Garden of Eden by tasting the forbidden fruit, and thus women are forever lesser and more prone to fault. In response to that argument, Truth issues a simple but compelling maxim: " . . . if woman upset the world, do give her a chance to set it right side up again." In this way, Truth implicitly appeals to forgiveness, a different value espoused by her Christian faith.

Ain’t I a Woman? (Speech) Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Ain’t I a Woman? (Speech) is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

I need a Claim

The claim the Truth is making, or her opinion-based stance, is that women, Black women in particular, are not being given the equal rights they deserve.

How does Sojourner Truth challenge traditional genders roles and stereotypes in her speech?

Sojourner truth challenged traditional gender roles and stereotypes in her unfaltering advocacy for the rights of African American women. Truth declared that women were just as capable as men, that they deserved equal rights, and that they be...

Ain't I a Woman

Truth includes several biblical allusions in her speech. First, she alludes to the story of Adam and Eve to demonstrate that women deserve a second chance, even after Even's sinning. Second, she discusses the story of Lazarus, and Jesus'...

Study Guide for Ain’t I a Woman? (Speech)

Ain't I a Woman? (Speech) study guide contains a biography of Sojourner Truth, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman": Rhetorical Analysis

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Ain't I a Woman?: Analysis

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Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman” Speech Analysis

Sojourner Truth addresses the discrimination black women endured in the 1800s in her lecture Ain’t I a Woman . The speech became iconic because it influenced the movement for women’s suffrage at the time. This analysis of the speech will determine the literacy she employs. By incorporating literary devices such as allegories and anaphora, Sojourner Truth amplifies the significance of her message, drawing more attention to it, whereas the inclusion of metaphors and slang help Sojourner Truth to illustrate her point.

Ethos: She connects with the minority audience by employing ethos. She uses her own experiences to illustrate. “See my arm! I planted and plowed and gathered into barns…” “And suffer the lash!” she says (Truth 1). She talked about working and being beaten as an enslaved person—this shows how she leverages her motherhood credibility to reveal her life. “I have produced thirteen children and watched virtually all sold off to slavery,” she says (Truth 1). She bonds with the mothers in the audience by narrating her experiences.

Pathos: Sojourner Truth’s article is full of pathos to connect with her audience. Mothers, Christians, minorities, and men were her friends. She hoped to evoke emotion through personal instances. She exclaimed, “I have carried thirteen children and seen most all taken off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s agony, none but Jesus heard me! Ain’t I a Woman?” (Truth 1). Sojourner Truth moves women, especially black women, with a compelling example from her life on how they want their children enslaved.

Furthermore, “Ain’t I a Woman?” features several powerful literary devices that serve to enhance the author’s voice and make her message heard. The use of anaphora, namely, continuous repetitions of key statements, throughout her speech represents one of the most effective strategies. Specifically, the titular question of “Ain’t I a woman?” is reiterated throughout the speech: “I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain’t I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man – when I could get it – and bear the lash as well! And ain’t I a woman?” (Truth par. 1). The specified approach serves to mark the key points in Sojourner Truth’s speech, allowing the audience to perceive it better and making it overall more palatable. Thus, in addition to representing the main argument of claiming humanity through the acknowledgment of her womanhood, the specified question allows Sojourner Truth to outline the core part of her statement while also ensuring that the core message appeals to the audience both as a statement of reason and an emotional plight for justice.

Furthermore, metaphor represents one of the main literary devices that Sojourner Truth utilizes in her speech. Serving as the means of connecting with the audience emotionally, the application of a metaphor that is easily understandable for every audience member helps Sojourner Truth transcend the boundaries of class and race. For instance, as she uses the expression to “bear the lash” when expressing her ability to contribute to the community to the same extent as men do, she captures the undivided attention and receives the unanimous empathy of people from all social classes, as well as racial and ethnic backgrounds (Truth 1). The specified expression captures the broad range of responsibilities that she has had to accept and, therefore, reinforces her plight to be recognized as a capable and independent human being with the same range of rights and freedoms as White women, therefore, promoting the need to advocate for the rights of African American women as well.

Furthermore, Sojourner truth’s speech must be appreciated for the broad range of allusions to the Bible and a variety of Biblical concepts and ideas. Supporting her argument concerning her right to claim the same range of freedoms and opportunities as White women, the specified element enhances the overall impression of her speech as it allows directing the main argument at the core ethical standards and spiritual beliefs and values of her target audience. For instance, by mentioning Eve as the embodiment of womanhood, Sojourner Truth equates her to her White female audience: “If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again!” (Truth 2). The specified statement addresses the problem of racism prevalent in American society at the time and preventing African American women from receiving the same amount of opportunities for fighting for their rights and agency as White women.

Another crucial component of the rhetorical framework of Sojourner Truth’s speech is represented by juxtaposition. Namely, she utilizes the specified literary device as the means of drawing attention to her plight and reinforcing her idea of African American women’s right to claim the same extent of humanity and womanhood as White women. The juxtaposition between the extent of education to which the specified groups have access to and the resulting range of knowledge that African American and White women have is outlined in the specified claim: “If my cup won’t hold but a pint, and yours holds a quart, wouldn’t you be mean not to let me have my little half measure full?” (Truth 1). The use of the specified juxtaposition contributes to the overall argument regarding the need for equity and equality in the women’s movement. The application of implicit simile in Sojourner Truth’s speech creates the same, albeit slightly less powerful, effect: “’twixt the negroes of the South and the women at the North” (Truth 1). The lesser impact that simile produces can be attributed to the absence of a stark contrast within the statement. Furthermore, the specified component is also representative of metaphor, which Sojourner Truth’s speech is rife with, also creating an impression of honesty and authenticity, as well as creating a shorthand to convey an idea to which the audience can relate immediately.

Finally, one should mention the role that informal speech and slang play in Sojourner Truth’s speech. Specifically, the specified components allow her argument to sound authentic and sincere: “and now old Sojourner ain’t got nothing more to say” (Truth 2). The integration of informal speech indicates that Sojourner Truth speaks passionately and straightforwardly. As a result, the incorporation of informal elements does not make her argument seem any lesser in value but, instead, enhances its power and effect.

Using a variety of literary devices ranging from the incorporation of key rhetorical elements to the integration of tools such as metaphors, allegories, alliterations, and slang in “Ain’t I a Woman?,” Sojourner Truth manages to convey her compelling message. She fulfilled her duty to raise awareness of the challenges women of the 1800s faced due to bias based on gender and race and to encourage others to stand up for the rights of women of color and women. As she concluded, she successfully incited a desire for change among women, leading to the long-sought-after rights for women.

Truth, Sojourner. Ain’t I A Woman? Florida Center for Instructional Technology, 1851, pp. 1-2.

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StudyCorgi. (2023, August 18). Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman” Speech Analysis. https://studycorgi.com/sojourner-truths-aint-i-a-woman-speech-analysis/

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Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?” Literary Analysis Essay

Introduction, a woman’s strength, a woman’s intelligence, god, women, and moral high ground.

It is important to note that slavery remains to be a major historical stain in the United States’ past. Sojourner Truth was a women’s rights activist and abolitionist who gave the speech titled “Ain’t I a Woman?” It can be considered among the shortest yet most powerful speeches in history delivered at a period where both African Americans and women were deemed as inferior groups. The literary analysis of Sojourner Truth’s statements reveals that there is no basis to believe that women are weak, less intelligent, and less of a priority for God.

Firstly, Sojourner Truth addresses the most common sexist argument of her time, which was rooted in the notion that women are weaker and less resilient than men. The patriarchal argument was that women need to be helped in every regard, but the speaker was able to dismantle the hypocrisy. Truth states that “nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place!” (par. 4). In other words, she uses the fact that she is an African American woman who suffered a great deal from slavery and labor exploitation. Truth further elaborates: “and ain’t I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me!” (par. 4). The sexist statements directly fall apart as soon as hypocritical nature of white men’s arguments since such a line of thought was used primarily against white women. However, bringing the racial element to the discussion shows that these privileged men are deceiving both themselves and their female counterparts. The speaker uses facts and reason through logos to address the sexists.

Moreover, Truth uses her experience as a means to dismantle the argument of supposed female weakness by sharing an undeniable truth about the oppression of African American women. The speaker states: “I could work as much and eat as much as a man – when I could get it – and bear the lash as well! And ain’t I a woman?” (Truth par. 4). Sojourner Truth was born into slavery and spent most of her years as a slave, which means that no white man could argue that she did not work in the most despicable of conditions. She was a woman, who was forced to labor without ever enjoying the fruits of her work, and no man could state that he was in a worse position. It is evident Truth deploys the credibility or ethos argument because being a woman slave did not come with the privileges of enduring less suffering or work volume.

Subsequently, Truth completely dismantles the sexists’ argument on womanly weakness by using pathos, which finalizes the first part of the speech making it a strong case on its own. She states: “I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain’t I a woman?” (Truth par. 4). No person can deny that there is no greater pain of losing a child let alone several children to be treated in the same fashion as Truth was treated almost her entire life. A mother’s grief is a sincere and deeply saddening emotion that no man can ever experience. Therefore, Truth fully eliminates the argument that women are not as strong mentally, emotionally, and physically as men by appealing to pathos, logos, and ethos.

Secondly, Truth addresses utilize logos to dismantle the strawman argument about intelligence. She states: “Then they talk about this thing in the head; what’s this they call it? That’s it, honey. What’s that got to do with women’s rights or negroes’ rights?” (Truth par. 5). The statement is exceedingly powerful because it does not allow her to be deceived into the strawman trap of shifting the discussion into a completely unrelated subject. Truth shows the use of wise reasoning approach to address the argument at its root by revealing that the matter is about African American rights and women’s rights, not about intellect. In other words, the speaker is highly conservative about her resources, energy, and time, which is why she does not waste them in pointless debates about intelligence. In addition, she dismantles the entire strawman argument of white men by exposing it as a strawman or irrelevant as it is.

Furthermore, Truth not only shows how unrelated the intellect argument is for the subject but goes along with it and argues about African American rights and women’s rights within these assumptions. The speaker states: “if my cup won’t hold, but a pint and yours holds a quart, wouldn’t you be mean not to let me have my little half measure full?” (Truth par. 5). In other words, Truth reveals how the intellect argument fails to hold relevant or true even if she accepts their premises. The complete opposition to giving rights to African Americans and women on the basis of their supposedly superior intelligence conflicts within itself since half as much intellect should grant a similar proportion of rights. This is a demonstration of Truth’s impeccable use of logos against the case, which argues about reasoning and logical capabilities. Therefore, there is an element of irony in the speech, where an ostensibly less intelligent person outsmarts her ‘intellectually superior’ opponents.

Thirdly, Truth addresses the final and the most important argument made by racists and sexists of her time. She demonstrates that not only women are equal in the eye of God, but they are even regarded as higher than men. Truth states: “then that little man in black there, he says women can’t have as much rights as men, ’cause Christ wasn’t a woman! Where did your Christ come from?” (par. 6). The rationale behind the argument about Christ being a man is that this fact gives men the moral high ground and inherent superiority over women. Christian faith is the basis for morality and order for many, which is why Truth’s ability to dismantle the opposition within the realm of religion makes her objection exceptionally powerful. The speaker goes after the central source of ethos and inverts it with logos to showcase that the opponents lack a logical and credible basis to stand against her.

Moreover, Truth uses the moral argument of racists and sexists of her time to expose their inferiority under their own paradigm of assumptions and reasoning. The speaker states: “where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him” (Truth par. 6). She shows that the Son of God and one of three persons of God is created by God and a woman Mary. Thus, Truth reveals that not only is a man a product of the Creator but subservient to a woman by their logic.

In a sense, since God and his person of Christ are worshiped because he is the Creator of a man, so should a woman because she took part in the creation process of Christ. Truth calls for action: “If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back” (par. 7). At no point of her speech, does Truth try to debate the racists and sexists of her time confrontationally, but rather uses their assumptions and claims to reveal their own hypocritical nature.

In conclusion, Truth exposes her opponents for what they truly are by showing that women are stronger, smarter, and holier than men in all regards. The speaker uses all three modalities of appeal, such as logos, ethos, and pathos, to expose the hypocrisy behind the arguments made by white men against African American rights and women’s rights movements. Truth utilizes a clever approach, where she avoids arguing about the assumptions made against her but rather uses the assumptions and claims of the racists and sexists. As a result, the hypocrisy and untruthfulness of the opposition are exposed in a short, concise, and plain manner. Therefore, Truth’s statements reveal that there is no basis to believe that women are weak, less intelligent, and less of a priority for the Creator.

Truth, Sojourner. “Ain’t I A Woman?” National Park Service , 1851.

• Chicago (A-D)
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IvyPanda. (2023, August 27). Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman?" Literary Analysis. https://ivypanda.com/essays/sojourner-truths-aint-i-a-woman-literary-analysis/

"Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman?" Literary Analysis." IvyPanda , 27 Aug. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/sojourner-truths-aint-i-a-woman-literary-analysis/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman?" Literary Analysis'. 27 August.

IvyPanda . 2023. "Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman?" Literary Analysis." August 27, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/sojourner-truths-aint-i-a-woman-literary-analysis/.

1. IvyPanda . "Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman?" Literary Analysis." August 27, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/sojourner-truths-aint-i-a-woman-literary-analysis/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman?" Literary Analysis." August 27, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/sojourner-truths-aint-i-a-woman-literary-analysis/.

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Famous Person — Sojourner Truth’s Speech Ain’t I a Woman

Sojourner Truth’s Speech Ain't I a Woman

• Categories: Abolitionism Famous Person Women's Rights

About this sample

Words: 1990 |

10 min read

Published: Dec 3, 2020

Words: 1990 | Pages: 4 | 10 min read

Table of contents

Sojourner truth outline, sojourner truth essay example, introduction.

• Introduction to Sojourner Truth's speech "Ain't I a Woman"
• Mention of its historical context and significance
• Statement of the essay's purpose: analyzing the effectiveness of rhetorical strategies in the speech

Connecting to the Audience

• Ethos: Discussion of how Truth uses her personal experiences as a former slave to connect with the minority in the audience
• Pathos: Examination of how Truth employs emotional appeals to connect with mothers, Christians, and men in the audience
• Emphasis on specific examples and quotes from the speech

Rhetorical Devices

• Analysis of rhetorical devices used by Sojourner Truth, including imagery, simile, biblical allusion, anaphora, and hyperbole
• Explanation of how each device contributes to the overall impact of the speech
• Emphasis on the use of repetition with "And ain't I a woman"
• Recap of the effectiveness of Truth's rhetorical strategies
• Summary of the speech's success in delivering its message and motivating change for women's rights
• Final thoughts on the significance of Sojourner Truth's speech in history

“Ain’t I a Woman” Analysis

Works cited.

• Buhle, M. J., & Buhle, P. (Eds.). (2005). The concise history of woman suffrage: Selections from the classic work of Stanton, Anthony, Gage, and Harper. University of Illinois Press.
• Caron, J. A. (1998). Sojourner Truth: The life and times of a legendary African American woman leader. New York University Press.
• Crenshaw, K. W. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics , and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241-1299.
• Delgado, R. (1995). The Rodrigo chronicles: Conversations about America and race. New York University Press.
• Dickson, D. M. (1988). Sojourner Truth's America. University of Illinois Press.
• Douglas, F. (1995). The life and times of Sojourner Truth. Da Capo Press.
• DuBois, W. E. B. (1897). The suppression of the African slave-trade to the United States of America, 1638-1870. Longmans, Green and Company.
• Hemmer, N. (2015). Messengers of the Right: Conservative media and the transformation of American politics. University of Pennsylvania Press.
• Painter, N. I. (1996). Sojourner Truth: A life, a symbol. WW Norton & Company.
• Stanton, E. C. (1892). The woman's bible: A classic feminist perspective. European Publishing Company.

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"Ain't I a Woman?" Rhetorical Analysis - Courtney Blackstock

Description.

• ain't i a woman
• sojourner truth
• kerry washington

Resource summary

• Speaker in video: Kerry Washington
• Asking this question throughout the speech emphasizes the importance of equality for women. This is done by making the audience think about the difference in treatment of women due to race and ethnicity. It also helps the reader understand Sojourner Truth’s point of view clearer.
• “Ain't I A Woman?” (Title; Paragraph 2)
• “That little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman!...Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.” (Paragraph 4)
• Sojourner Truth uses a little humor to explain how men are not as “important” as the world as treated them because man did not contribute to the birth of Christ. She says, only God and a women, no man. Which is true in a sense but by saying this she creates an impression that me are not as important as they have been perceived.
• Sojourner Truth, once again, uses a personal story as an example of how black women or certain women, were treated back then. This quote supports the speaker’s message by providing a comparison and insight on the side of inequality.
• “That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman?” (Paragraph 2)
• By doing this Kerry Washington emphasizes Sojourner Truth’s words and brings the words to life, performing as she feels Sojourner did all the way back in 1851.
• Kerry Washington stands with her hand on her hip and points her her finger when she speaks.
• This quote shows an example of pathos by using the words children, slavery, grief, and cry. The way Sojourner Truth used these words in her speech, made the audience emotionally reach out to her. By her sharing this experience, she shows the effects of women not being as respected as they should be.
• “I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?” (Paragraph 2)
• This portion of the speech makes the women in the audience feel empowered and want to seek equality for all women. It gives them the courage to change the way women are being treated, no matter race or ethnicity because as a whole, women are seen as less than men.
• “If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back , and get it right side up again!” (Last Paragraph)
• By doing this, it pushes the main ideas of the speech forward, engaging the audience more into what she was saying by how she was presenting it.
• During the speech, Kerry Washington using many hand gestures as she describes the details within the speech.
• This part of Sojourner Truth’s speech references ethos because she is using her own personal experience as a comparison to how different (unequal) women of color are treated versus the privileges of white women.
• Sojourner Truth gives a description of how she looks to emphasize that she is just as strong as any man. She tells what she does and what she can do, comparing it to what a man does or can do. She says all this to emphasize how, she can go head to head against a man in any of these jobs and come out on top and still be treated unequally because she is a woman. She accentuate that she can do all of this and yet she is still a woman.
• “Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman?” (Paragraph 2)

Annotations:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SQNeZKUh38   http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/womens-history-month/videos/aint-i-a-woman
• Goal: To inform people of women's rights in that time. To show an example of how some women were being treated versus other women. Sojourner Truth shared a part of her life story as an example of how women should not be treated, essentially taking a stand on women's rights.
• Audience Reaction: Should feel empowered and want to seek equality for all women

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